teacherkim

Member announcements email saying Hook's Lagoon is open now. I'm a little surprised since we are so late in the summer and it's a high touch area, thought they had just given up on that area opening this year but apparently not.

BTW - I got a survey regarding FF a couple days ago. Basically asking a lot of questions about whether or not I would still attend if they couldn't offer the same experience as the normally could and my comfort level, etc, etc. Sounded like they are trying to determine what type of FF if any they will offer this year. I'm sure they are struggling with the desire to not expend too much money if attendance is way off and the desire to not lose out on the biggest cash cow of the year in a dismal economic year.

They were definitely doing a separate count for the waterpark, which I expected as I have seen it reach capacity during normal times. Anticipating this we just got there about a half hour early and waited in the HH queue which is nicely shaded.

Perfect! Thanks for the clarification. I kind of figured that was the case but nice to get the confirmation before we go. We will be there in two weeks. I'm glad they are still advertising haunt. We go to a different park for the Halloween event every year the first weekend in Oct. This year the plan was CP but of course I've been waiting to see what all the parks are doing about their events. I know it was still listed on the website.

Definitely, longest wait was when it started raining as we buckled into Maverick, or when we did standby on MF. Which reminds me to say... your best bet is staying on site if you can. We were in line for SV passes by 1015 from the resort gate. Got those within 30 seconds of distribution starting and went right to Maverick's pass line. Three minutes later we were on our way to MF. Got 12-1 passes for all three and hopped right in the standby line for MF after grabbing our passes. There was no line for MF passes either. We ended up not using the MF passes until 715 or so and by then it was almost a walk on. So are they just basically opening the resort gate for all hotel guests at about 10? I noticed it did not have us choose a park arrival time when I made the hotel reservation.

I believe at the moment it is just if you have all season OR if you had purchased a fastpass pre-shutdown. Hoping they will start selling them again like KI did. So, we are staying at Breakers at the end of the month. We were not given any option on picking a reservation time, just the assurance that you are guaranteed entry into the park. Will we automatically get the earlier time? I assumed we would get to enter at the resort gate like always. Hoping since it is still two weeks away that things will have smoothed out operationally and that maybe they will put fastpass back on the table.

I was at the park today. However, not a rides day but for the purpose of using my BFF to take my 75 year old Mom for some pool time at the waterpark due to most of the area pools being closed this summer. Still here is how our day went. The new entrance is really nice. I saw several people taking photos in front of the new Arch signage. Strolling through the cooled tent and walking right on by the thermal scan thingy was so much quicker than the handheld temp check. Just walk through at a normal pace and the employee can see your temp above your image. For those that suddenly realize they forgot their mask, they have some for sale right before the tent for $6. Also, the new scanners at the old bag check area were so much faster. I would assume they will keep those, although the old metal detectors were still there but pushed to the side. The water park did require masks during entry, in the gift shop, bathrooms, food lines, etc.....but once you were on the pool deck, walking to rides or in the water you could take them off. They did have someone disinfecting the loungers and life vests after use. The loungers were spread out in groups of 2-4 and surprisingly people were not trying to move them but respected the social distancing. They did have metal barriers around the wave pool so that there was a single entrance and exit point and there was a lifeguard keeping count and stopping the line if the pool got too full. Like I said we just were there to sunbathe and use the pool but I did take a quick look around and other than the kid's structure it seemed all the slides were operational. Bonzai Pipeline did go down for awhile and got a visit from maintenance. When we left the waterpark, Grandma decided she wanted to see where the boy works so we took the train from the St Louis station up to BB. Everything we passed between the two was open but with very low crowds. No one in line for cars, maybe 5 people on the one Thunder train that was going, log flume and rafts going with very few people. Did not see Boss go while we went by, but I have no idea if that was just timing or if it was down. Dragon's wing seemed to be doing training with a group of 5 or 6 employees, one of whom was on it. Eagle was up but didn't see the line or if they were running both trains. All the games up by Superman were closed but SM, FB, BR and SS were up. Although FB was only testing. MT was running. After our peek at the boy in action to satisfy Grandma we headed back down the hill toward the entrance. Everything I could see was pretty much a walk on. Don't know if the games by Panda and Excalibur were open but I could see that both rides were running. Ninja, the Disko, and Tsunami Soaker were up. Batman ran all day reliably because I could hear it from the waterpark. Most but not all of the food venues I could see were open. The BBQ place in the water park was closed but all the other food options were available. The picnic grove looked sad with everything stacked up and it obviously hasn't been used since last year. Overall it was nice to get out even without doing any rides and everyone I saw was behaving and having a good time. Employees I encountered were very friendly and engaging the customers and truly making an effort (and I promise that has nothing to do with my son being a ride op, we didn't talk to him, lol) However, some things in the waterpark were a little rundown on the buildings and landscaping and with some things closed and the crowd so low it was a little sad too. Just the vibe I picked up on. Crowd was very low today based on my scientific examination of how full (or not) the parking lot was. It was a Wed and there were storms in the forecast which did hit about 4 or so and I am sure the people riding were thrilled at no waits; but a little worrisome all the same. When we rode past the Catwoman location it did look as though it was stopped in mid construction. That whole area is kind of torn up.

was his area any busier after HH closed? He said not really but today being Sat was definitely busier than yesterday.

Thanks for posting that. Yikes. I wonder if that sort of crowds will continue during the week. Once it's out that the kids area is closed that may deter a lot of the families with little ones. My son said it was really slow at his rides and I wondered if everyone was at the water park.

Well check the news before you go if it's a concern because the AG of Kentucky has filed a challenge to the Governor and a judge has temporarily blocked the order on some state law red tape/loophole.

I also went ahead and bought one for the 29th and yes they absolutely cut the wait down. We did every single coaster at CP in one day with some rerides once due to FL+. They also allow you to have time for a leisurely lunch and not skip a ride you want to do.

So, KI is now selling FP+ (no regular FP, just +) Just bought some online. Wonder if CP will do the same? Since we will be at CP for two days I am probably more likely to wait until we get there and scope it out. Will keep my eye on it.

Aahh got it thanks. I knew I saw a discount somewhere but couldn't remember the details. Yes, I saw online for $85. Expensive but it will be our conciliation for not much of a vacation this year. And that way I will have time for a grilled cheese......that place better be open!

IF people are wearing masks and using hand sanitizer and/or washing regularly then the trains shouldn't really be a hot spot and I'm fine with once an hour.

Yeah.......I may just go ahead and get them. It's not like we've spent a ton of money this year on parks. I wish SFSTL would approve his days off request which they haven't yet. They are usually very cooperative about that as long as you put it in well ahead of time; but with staffing issues this year I am a little nervous. We are finally getting our Plat passes processed when we go to KI. Does the discount for fastlane plus only apply to in park purchase or is there a way to do it online?

They are selling fastlane plus on the website, and just fastlane plus, not regular fastlane. Did I miss something or is that new? Can't decide if I should maybe jump on that since we will only have one day at the end of the month, or just take my chances that they are still available and see how busy they are on a Wed.

Park has now gone to sanitizing trains once an hour. At least they have on Mine Train so bet it's safe to say it is on all the coasters. They are still loading every other row of course.

Water park question: I know you won't have to wear masks while on waterpark slides and pool, I'm sure they will be required while entering and in line for water park entry; as well as shops, bathrooms, getting food. BUT does anyone have a clue if you will be allowed to lay on the pool loungers without a mask? I have a grumpy 75 year old mother that wants to use my member "golden ticket" to get some pool time in (most of our area pools are closed) If any waterpark employees know OR if someone is there this weekend and stops by the water park let me know! I might just try to call but I am guessing calling guest services is quite the ordeal these days.

It is STl county, I should have specified. Our gov is just letting each county do as they feel necessary, which is not working out so well for some of the rural counties right now. Since I posted that STL county/city have made a public mask mandate.

I JUST saw this and was going to post, my son wasn't even aware yet, I told him he better check his schedule again. I was getting ready to book a day for my mom and I to hang out at the water park. They also adjusted open hours again. Til 8 on Fri and Sat but only til 6 on Sun, Wed, Thurs. Hoping this is strictly an adjustment to crowd level and staffing and will save them money so everything is alright for whatever is left of this year and hopefully back to normal next year.

There were SFGA employees down here helping out at SFSTL but apparently they have gone back home now that the holiday weekend is over. Have no idea what that means, if anything, for a SFGA opening date.

Really, $2 for a locker is a problem? Pfftt, that's one of the reasons I spend $300 for a room at the Breakers......and then just leave keys and phone in the "free" locker in your room, lol.

Good they definitely had to do something about Thunder. It is already not great capacity. Cutting the train in half, then further only running it half the cycles was insanity. According to the ride op in my house they also started doing this on Mine Train as of Monday, so they must be switching over all the coasters to wipe down rather than empty runs.

So....how exactly is the line ticket thing working. We will be there at park open when we go. Are they letting a certain amount just get on and then when the line gets to a certain point begin to hand out line tickets?

Kudos to the park for giving free lunches to the employees working on the holiday yesterday. And I think they are getting popsicles today.